


Adrift

by MarcusAfterMidnight



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Bisexual Lance (Voltron), Bottom Sniper, Everyones a badass, Except Shiro he has a man bun, F/F, F/M, Gay, Gay Keith (Voltron), How Many Tags am I Supposed to Have?, Keith is a badass, Klance Week 2017, Lance (Voltron) is a Mess, Lesbians because who doesn't love lesbians, M/M, Missing in Action, Pining Keith (Voltron), Time Skips, future klance, i'll stop now, is this too many tags?, lance is a badass
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-03-22
Updated: 2017-05-09
Packaged: 2018-10-05 15:59:20
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 4
Words: 6,835
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10311896
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MarcusAfterMidnight/pseuds/MarcusAfterMidnight
Summary: What if at the end of season 2 Lance went missing instead of Shiro? What if Lance had been sent into a wormhole, sent adrift into space? What if he woke up on a planet, galaxies away from the rest of the team?  What if Lance gave up hope in ever being found by his friends? What if  Lance gave up thinking they were his friends at all?Damn, that's a lot of 'what if's.'





	1. Misconception

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Currently unedited, will be rewritten later. For now, hope you enjoy!

The battlefield was coas. Galra ships of all sizes were almost everywhere, moving quickly to surround the paladins. Wherever there wasn’t a ship, there were lasers, from both sides, firing in all directions. To make matters worse, the team of paladins was completely surrounded, enough to make Lance’s anxiety raise to uncharted heights. And then there was the voices.

“Lance- you idiot! Turn left,” Pidge- it was Pidge’s voice yelling at him over the comm. 

“I’m trying,” He yelled, and pulled hard on the controls, “There’s too many Galra in the way!”

“Do it anyway!” Shiro’s voice spat back, making Lance tremble at the intensity of it. “You’re so useless!”

Lance’s mind went in all directions. He knew he wasn’t as great or valuable as the rest of the team. He knew he wasn’t a great mechanic like Hunk, tech wizard like Pidge, a leader like Shiro, or even a good fighter like Keith. But he tried his best! _He always tried his best _, even though he thought that he would never be good enough. So why was Shiro’s words effecting him so much, when he heard them in his head all the time?__

You just didn’t want to hear them out loud. 

It was true, completely true. 

“Lance-What the quiznack! Focus,” This time it was Keith’s irritated voice crackled over the comm. 

Without another word, Lance turned back to the battlefield startled. Quickly he veered left to escape the incoming laser from a nearby Galra ship. Once he was out of the way, he flew around it, planning to attack from behind. Laser after laser, he fired never missing at the smaller ship. In minutes the ship started to smoke, before exploding into pieces. Lance felt a shred of pride rush through him as he yelled to his friends.

“Did you guys see that! Amazing huh,” Lance boasted, expected the usual praise from his peers. But as Shiro’s voice spat back at him, he realized he would get none of the sort.

“One ship? You’ve destroyed one ship during this entire battle? Pathetic.”

“But I teamed up and helped you guys destroy plenty of ships!” He called back in surprise. Shiro never put him down for not being as great as the others. And now, in the middle of battle, with the whole team listening he was? It didn’t make any sense. Why now?

“Listen to Shiro,Lance!” Lance froze when Hunk’s voice spoke for the first time.”Can’t you see how worthless you are?” 

Lance’s eyes welled up in tears. Even his best friend though so low of him? _Was he really that useless? I guess I am _… Lance thought to himself. At that moment he felt like the dirt he had once walked on, and as the tears spilled over, he asked a stuttered question that pleaded that he had heard him wrong.__

“W-worthless? You think of me that way Hunk?”

A moment of silence.

“W-what? Of course I do!”

And just like that Lance’s world shattered.  
_________________________________________

About a mile away of the space battlefield, Keith was in his own dilemma. The airspace around him was tight, and unnerving. A total of 3 Galra ships surrounded him, still and unmoving. Just sitting there, seemingly watching his every move. The lack of action unnerved him as he sat and waited for them to make the first move. So he sat, stiff as a board, with high frustration. 

_What are they waiting for? _He grumbled in his mind, scanning the silent space around him. He was a fair distance away from the group. Far enough away that he could barely see the flashing colours of lasers and ships in the distance, far enough away that he was unable to keep track of his friends. Only the voices comms assured him of their existence, not that he was paying any attention of course.__

As more time slowly passed, and his boredom increased immensely, he huffed and tuned in to the current conversation.

 

“Lance- watch out! Turn left,” Pidge’s voice warned over the calm.

“I’m trying,” Lance yelled, seemingly struggling, “There’s too many Galra in the way!”

“Just find another way!” Shiro’s voice called back. “You can do it!”

Keith let a small smile form on his lips at the reassurances. Although he would never admit it, he really liked how close the team was. He liked the fact that there was always someone to rely on if something happened, and in return that someone would rely on him. The members of team Voltron were the first people he had trusted in a while, the first people he had felt safe around other than his family. It was a great feeling.

Keith was pulled out of his thoughts when he heard Lance mumble to himself over the comms. He quickly realized that Lance was most likely not paying attention to his surrounds, like he did most of the time when he spoke to himself.  
With a sigh of irritation, Keith took it up himself to bring him back to reality. “Lance, get your head in the game! Focus!”

Keith didn’t receive an answer, but from the sudden lack of mumbling he assumed Lance had listened to what he had said.

“Did you guys see that! Amazing huh,” Keith heard Lance exclaim in pride. Keith rolled his eyes with a small smile, of course Lance would get excited after destroying one ship.

“You got one? Keep up the good work! Great.”

“But I teamed up and helped you guys destroy plenty of ships!” Lance shouted back in distress.

Keith lifted his eyebrows in surprise. Did Lance hear him wrong or something?

“Listen to Shiro,Lance!”Hunk’s voice this time came over the comms. ”Didn’t you hear how awesome your doing?” 

A long wave of crackling silence was heard with the lack of Lance’s reply. What’s going on, Keith thought as he listened closely. Lance would usually had an arrogant remark by now. Is something wrong?

“W-worthless? You think of me that way Hunk?”

The shaky reply put the whole crew in silence. Keith sat startled in his seat. Never since he’d met him, had Keith heard such a distraught voice come from Lance. In fact, he’d never even seen the boy get relatively upset. Lance’s optimism on a good day was enough to make Keith irritated with him being so happy. But after hearing that voice, he realized that he’d much rather be irritated, because that voice was down right terrifying.

**What is going on? ******

 

“W-what? Of course I don’t!” Hunks voice sounded just as distraught as Lance’s. Keith could almost feel his distress and confusion, and soon he himself began to feel the same. Another crackling set of silence fell over the comms while all the paladins tried to figure out what was going on. It wasn’t until another, weaker, voice much worse than the terrify one before asked another question, did the paladins jump back into action.

“Y-You t-thought about me that way all a-along?”

“What? No Lance- he said he didn’t,” Pidge tried to reason.

“Y-You too Pidge?”

“What-”

“Lance you’re hear us wrong! Listen-” Keith piped, trying to help solve the misunderstanding.

Muffled sobs sounded over the comms. Keith’s heart hurt at the sound, as the rest of the paladins scrambled to help the crying boy. Although it was proving difficult in dividing their attention between Lance and the incoming lasers.

“What’s wrong,” Shiro’s voice came on in a flurry of panic, “We can’t help you if you don’t tell us!”

“I can’t believe you guys have hated me all this time… I know I’m useless! I know I’m a burden! I know you guys will always be better than me,” Lance’s intense screaming shook with sobs, “But p-please don’t leave me a-alone.”

Keith’s eyes stung at the blue paladins confession. _Had he always thought of himself that way? _He clenched his fists to hold back the tears. Keith could never have imagined such a happy person, who brightened the lives of everyone around him, think of himself in such as way. It was like a tidal wave, smooth and shining on the top, rough and destructive on the bottom. The two faces of a coin. The last thing Keith thought Lance would hide was self hatred. Maybe a weird hobby or even his sexuality, but self hatred? And he had been dealing with it all alone? The entire thought of it left a bad taste in his mouth.__

“Retreat.”

“What? Shiro-”

“Retreat. Lance is obviously in no condition to fight. Hunk, Pidge grab the blue lion, Keith make your way back, I’ll tell Allura to open a wormhole.”

With one last look at the unmoving ships, Keith turned his lion around. “Got it. I’m on my way.”

No words were spoken as the paladins met up to wait for the wormhole. The only sound heard over the comms was the almost silent cries of the grief stricken boy. The sound set a heavy atmosphere over the paladins. Strangely as the wormhole opened up, the Galra completely stopped their attack. Their ships sat still, much like the ones Keith had seen before, as if waiting for the best moment to strike. And they were. Just as the group ascended into the wormhole a flash of light coming from about a mile back struck-

_-right into the blue lion. ___

Not another sound was heard over the comms.  
______________________________________  
**Hagger smirked at her achievement. ******


	2. Unknown Surroundings

Lance couldn’t say he’d ever seen a purple tree before. In fact he’d never even dream of one being in existence. But low and behold there it was, Lance’s first purple tree, and Lance swore he’d seen it in a “Candy Land” game. It was a wild, distorted work of art. Twisted and stretched like rope, it bark swirled throughout the tree in individual strings. Violet branched shot up from the top, then stooped low to the ground, like an over sized cheese string peeled back by the grubby hands of a child. It truly was a sight to see, and if Lance was sure before, then the tree before him proved it, he was definitely not on Earth. Although the human-cat people that surrounded him might have been the first hint.

“It’s called a Hang Me Down,” The taller of two human-cat’s said, tucking their dark hair behind their equally dark cat ear. The alien before him was somewhat tall, around 5’6, with smooth ebony skin. Large golden human eyes, along with a medium nose, and almost pouty lips adorned their sharp face. Lance figured they were a girl, but didn’t assume, it seemed rude to do so, especially when it was an unfamiliar alien race.

“A Hang Me what?”

“Down. A Hang-Me-Down, it’s a type of tree,” They replied looking to their other human-cat partner with an eye roll. “The tree’s branches coil to the top and them hang towards the ground, acting as extra roots for the tree. They usually hang towards water, like you can see here, the branches are reaching down to the river.”

Lance was at a loss for words. Sure, it weren’t confusing or even outstanding information, but it made him realize just how weird this situation was. Minutes ago he was in his lion, having a minor mental break down, then suddenly he was falling from the sky onto this planet. Whatever this planet was. And now he was on the ground,with dried tears still on his face, bleeding none the less, as he had an almost casual conversation with a human-cat alien. Yeah, it was definitely weird, and Lance didn’t have a single clue on what to do.

“Um cool,” Lance managed to mumble, avoiding the strict eyes that stared into his soul.

“Yes, very cool,” Strict eyes met his in an unwavering stare, “But what I find cool, is that you somehow managed to get into my territory. Care to explain?”

“U-um…”

“Spit it out,” They huffed impatiently, getting in his face.

“I-I don’t know,” He yelped, struggling to push him self away from them.

His answer seemed to baffle them. “You don’t know? Are you lying to me?”

“I fell from the sky,” Lance finally managed to get out,”I have no idea where I am, or even how I got here, okay. If I knew I’d tell you!”

The dark beauty didn’t seem entirely convinced, but backed up slowly before looking to their partner.

“I think he’s telling the truth Vikk,” Their partner was a few inches shorter than them and obviously a child, with wild curly hair much like their partners. In fact the two looked very alike, the only difference between the two was the blue eyes of the shorter. Siblings, Lance thought to himself.

“How can you be so sure?”

“Look at him,” The smaller gestured to him,” He’s scared shitless!”

“Nyx!”

‘Nyx’ rubbed the back of his head, “Oops?”

“Yeah ‘oops’ what did I tell you about swearing?”

“Not to?”

“Yeah, so are you going to listen?”

“But you curse all the time,” Nyx shouted back, throwing his hands in the air.

“I’m 14! I can curse all I want,” Vikk retorted.

“Betcha dad wouldn’t say that if I told him!”

“You little son of a-”

“Umm… Excuse me?” Lance piped, hoping to break up the argument.

“WHAT,” They both yelled, turning to face him.

Suddenly feeling more awkward than before he mumbled, “So are we good now, or?”

“O-oh yeah, I guess so,” Vikk rubbed the back of her head, before sticking out her hand with a smile, “I’m Vikk, next Tasf of the Saltus.”

The shorter smiled at him as well, “And I’m her brother! My name’s Nyx!”

Lance took her hand and shook it, “I’m Lance.”

“Well Lance, you seem a bit roughed up at the moment. Wanna come back to the village with us? My father would probably want to speak to you,” She said with a gentle smile.

“I guess I’ll have to speak to him then,” He replied, giving her a smile of his own.  
\-------------------------------------------------------------------------

Kennif Blue was probably the kindest man Lance had ever met. The older man was the same height as his daughter, with the same light eyes and eboney skin. His face was soft, rippled with lines from everlasting smiles. At fist glance you would never had guesses the grey haired man was the leader of such a large tribe, or a Tasf, as they called it. Although after seeing the peoples respect towards the man, Lance was certain, he was definitely the rock that held his people together. A very kind, respectable leader.

He was what was consider a goofball too. In fact he reminded Lance almost painfully of Coran. Lance liked him already. And boy did Kennif like him too. Within a week of Lance’s stay on the planet Kennif had asked him to become his son in law- which both Vikk and Lance quickly refused.

“Lance, my boy! Are you ready to go hunting?”

Lance smiled over his shoulder, as he grabbed his slipped on his new tank top given to him from the village tailor. The weather was extremely hot the planet, Viridis he learned it was called, and his suit wasn’t compatible with it’s climate. Thankfully after he was approved to stay by the Tasf, villagers of all shapes and sizes welcomed him with open arms. They showered him with warmth and welcome gifts. They were so friendly Lance almost forgot about his friends, almost.

“Yeah, sorry. I’m still getting used to the whole time thing,” He grinned sheepishly, facing the man while rubbing the back of his head in embarrassment.

“That’s fine my boy, I understand. You’ve been through a lot in the last few days. Hopefully the hunting will get your mind off of it for a bit,” Kennif replied with a friendly grin, “Well let’s get going k?”

“Yup, let’s go pops!”

After leaving Lance’s guest hut, it was only a short walk through the village to get the woods. The Saltus, the tribe of people Lance was staying with, were very close to nature. Their culture was based around their respect for all parts of nature. They lived of the land, much like the First Nations back on Earth did years ago, only in much warmer weather. Plus the planet itself was very small in general. The land mass of Viridis was only about the size of Canada, no oceans or large bodies of water were their either. Only small brooks, and one river were craved into their planets shape. Most of the planet was made up of a long stretch of forest, that seemed never ending in Lances view.

The walk to their destination was short. Not even a after half a hour of walking, Kennif stopped before a large grassy clearing. There didn’t seem to be anything in the clearing, but Lance decided to be quite non the less, just in case. With a simple hand signal Lance lowered to the ground, followed by Kennif, who quickly started rooting through his backpack. Lance watched in anticipation, excited to see the weapon they would be hunting with. It wasn’t until the old man pulled small brown seeds out of his bag, did Lance speak up.

“Seeds,” Lance stated blankly in a baffled tone.

“Yes, they are,” The Tasf smiled gently.

“What are we going to use them for?” Kennif looked up at him with a knowing gaze, “You did notice that I didn’t bring any weapons right? So were going to use these.”

“Seeds,” Lance repeated, before saying it louder, ”Seeds?”

The old man chuckled, “Yes Lance.”

“But, how?”

“Like this.”

And Lance couldn’t believe his eyes.

All of a sudden the seeds glowed a rich gold. Brown, tree like sprouts, grew out of them at a rapid pace, twisting together in an ever changing form. Lance was so overwhelmed with that sight, that it didn’t occur to him what the shape the sprouts were forming was. It wasn’t until a long barrel grew and the transformation was complete that he realized what was built. The realization threw him into another wave of surprise that sent his mouth falling open in shock, while Kennif's lips turned up in an amused smirk.

In the large weathered hands of the Tasf was a fully formed sniper rifle. It was the coolest damn thing Lance had ever seen.

“What the quiznack! That’s awesome! It glowed! And all the branches were like pow, whoosh-whoosh, and then bam! It’s a mega cool sniper rifle,” Lance couldn’t stop rambling, not even stopping when Kennif started laughing, “What the hell kind of space magic was that, cause dude-I want to do it too!”

 

Sobering up with one last deep chuckle, Kennif placed the rifle in Lance’s hands. “That my boy, is a seed from a creation tree that allows the user to create anything of their imagination. We use it for a lot of things here in Viridis.”

Lance’s hands ran over the twisted wood in awe,”Will it work? You know, like a real gun?”

“Yes, of course. I created for a reason you know,” He replied.

Lance looked up with hopeful eyes, “Would I be able to do it?”

Kennif shook his head with a sad smile, “Only very skilled Saltus people can do it Lance, I’m sorry.”

He looked down with a small frown, “Oh.”

Kennif placed a hand on his shoulder and gripped it reassuringly, “But I’ll make you it whenever you want okay?”

Lance looked up with a smile, “Thanks pops.”

“No problem my boy.”  
\-------------------------------------------------------------------------

About a month later, Lance sat on the roof of his new hut. His slightly longer hair blew softly in the night breeze as he looked to the stars with a look full of longing. Even though he hand been here for more than a month, he couldn’t get his mind off of his friends.Out somewhere in space, probably galaxies away, is friends were out there. _What are they doing_ ,he wondered. _Probably out fighting Galra_ , he though to himself. If not, Pidge was probably hacking stuff on her computer, Hunk was probably cooking up a storm in the kitchen, Shiro was likely flirting with Allura while Coran was asleep, and Keith was most definitely doing his cool sword thing in a simulator. But Lance couldn’t help but hope, that maybe, just maybe, they were out there looking for him.

Lance dismissed the thought quickly. He hadn’t exactly left them in on good terms, plus the team had much more important things to do. Finding his replacement was probably one of them, they needed a blue paladin to form Voltron, and they couldn’t defeat the Galra without it. _They probably have me replaced already_ , he sighed mentally, _that’s okay though_. It wasn’t like he would ever see them again. There were no Ships on Viridis, as they weren’t very technology advanced, there were no portals either. No other aliens even visited the planet, in fact, Lance hand been the first, so there was no way of him leaving.

“They’d never find me even they did search,” Lance mumbled with a broken chuckle.

\-----------------------------------------------------------------------

What Lance didn’t know was that they were searching, and that they would search on for the years to come.


	3. Grief

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know nothing about Spanish, so what I used was in google translate. If anyone know how it would actually be written, let me know! Sorry it took me so long to write this, actually I've been working on making a comic version of this. I'll let you know when I have the first chapter finished. Hope you enjoy!

Lance couldn’t have been more wrong about what his friends were doing. The paladins were definitely not fine or happy. Shiro was not flirting with Allura, he was helping her search their galaxy map. Coran was very much awake, despite not sleeping for the last 3 days. Keith was searching Blue for any clue to what may have happened to Lance. Hunk hadn’t stepped foot in the kitchen for days, choosing instead to hang over Pidge’s shoulder, who was, like Lance said, hacking Galra tech, but not for the reason he through they were. Every person on the ship was non-stop searching for the blue paladin, with little breaks for sleep, food or even the bathroom. They’d set finding Lance as their top priority.

 

   And that continued, all throughout the first month without Lance.

 

\-----------------------------------------------------------------------------

   The second month was even worse, if possible.

 

   The dinner table was quiet and tense. The faint clanks of forks against their plates was the only sound heard, it echoed through the silent room. Allura sat at the end, head tilted downward, glaring at the table. Her hands were entertwined and clenched, pressing against her forehead. Her foot tapped silently against the floor, before it got louder. The princess’s tapping began to go at a rapid pace. The thumping of it was only comparable to that of a rabbits, quick and continuos. Faster, and faster her foot tapped the metal floor, the faster it went the more her frustration increased. The whole tables attention was now focused on her, but despite their concern didn’t say a word. That was more of Lance’s thing to do, and nobody wanted to take his role. It wasn’t long before the tapping got too fast, and that was when she burst.

 

   “I CAN’T TAKE IT ANYMORE,” Allura’s fists crashed onto the table as she stood. “I can’t take this silence! This is absurd! I know you’re all hurting, I am too! But can’t we have a normal conversation?!”

 

   “Princess-” Coran spoke in a sad tone, reaching out his hand to calm her.

 

   With a sigh, Allura shook her head and sat back down. “No-I’m sorry Coran. I don’t know what has gotten into me. “

 

   After recieving nothing but silence once again, Allura turned to the worn looking padalins. “So….How was the search?”

 

   Shiro let out a sigh and leaned back in his chair. “Horrible, the planet was uninhabited. Not a soul in sight.”

 

    Allura’s eyes softened, before lighting up again when she turned to Keith. “And yours Keith?”

 

   “Useless,” The red padalin stated with a huff, crossing his arms, “None of the natives had even heard of Voltron, let alone Lance.”

 

   “I didn’t find anything either,” Pidge grumbled, “His wereabouts are completely unmetioned or reported. It’s like the Galra themselves don’t even know where he went.”

 

    A sad look passed throughtout the table, before Allura turned with a hopeful gaze to Hunk.

 

   “What about you H-”

 

    Hunk’s grief stricken sob shattered the quiet in the dinning hall. Soon there wasn’t a dry eye in the room.

\-------------------------------------------------------------

   Month number three wasn’t any better. After all the stress and saddness that came with searching for Lance, Hunk couldn’t take it anymore. He needed a break, something to get his mind off his lost friend.  So in response to his need, he once again entered the kitchen to preform his one true hobby, baking. 

   Ever since his grandma had taught him, baking had always been something Hunk did when he was stressed. It gave him something to conentrate on, and put his feelings into. Got a bad mark on a test? Make a grade A cake. Had a fight with a friend? Make them some cookies to say sorry. It was fun, and simple, ‘easy as pie,’ as Lance would say.

 

_ Lance. _

 

   God, he missed him. His laugh, his comfort, his stupid puns, they were what gave Hunk life. Recharged his ever stressed battery. It had been that way every since they met, back when they were only little kindergardeners. Hunk could still remember the day they met, all those years ago…

_ ”¡Vamos, vamos a una aventura!"(You, let’s go on an adventure!)  _

 

_    Hunk  looked up at the who had just stormed into his yard in confusion and awe. Dressed in a baby blue shirt with little brown shorts, bare foot and half covered in mud and leaves, a tan boy stood before him. His head held high with determined blue eyes staring right into his brown ones, as he spoke in a langauge Hunk had never heard before. Hunk didn’t know how to react, let alone reply, so he simply stared, and sat unmoving in his sand box. _

 

_    “¡Dije, vamos a una aventura! Vamos chico grande, no quieres ir en una aventura con este awesomeness!” (I said, let’s go on an adventure! Come on big guy, don’t you want to go on an adventure with this awesomeness!) The unknown boy said, getting closer and wagging his finger in the darker boys face. _

 

_    Pointing a finger at himself, Hunk looked up in curiosity. “Me?” _

 

_    “¡Sí tú! ¡Vamonos!” (Yes you! Let’s go!)  With that, the tan boy grabbed his hand and dragged him out of the sandbox, and into the bush he came from. _

 

_    The two of them walked through the forest like bushes for what seemed like hours. Hunk followed the hang tugging his own silently. He had to admit, he was enjoying himself, but he had no idea what the boy was saying. It was especially had to understand him when he got excited, and his words came out in a whirl of jumbled unknown words. It was very confusing for the five year old. He didn’t even known the boy that was dragging him! With that though in mind, he pulled back his hand, stopping the boy in his tracks. _

 

_    The boy looked at him in confusion. “¿Por qué nos detenemos? Sólo te estaba diciendo cómo vine aquí en este avión gigante! Estaba realmente fresco, y yo estaba en el cielo volando! Bueno, realmente no estaba volando pero ... "(Why are we stopping? I was just telling you about how I came here on this giant airplane! It was really cool, and I was in the sky flying! Well, I wasn’t really flying but-) _

 

_    “What’s your name?” _

 

_    “¿Qué?” (What?) _

 

_    With a sigh, Hunk pointed to himself before replying, “My name’s Hunk,” He then pointed a finger at the boy, “What’s your name?” _

 

_    “Hunk?Qué es un Hunk?” (Hunk? What is a Hunk?) _

 

_    Hunk’s lips turned up in a gleeful smile, “Yes! Yes, my name’s Hunk! What is your name?” _

 

_    “Name?” _

 

_    Hunk pointed his finger towards him again, “Yes, what are you called?” _

 

_    Finally the boy understood, and while pointing a finger at himself he let out a breath taking smile. “Lance!” _

 

_    The two had been best friends ever since. _

 

   And with those memories came the rain. The rain that occured only when he thought about Lance. That day it was raining in the kitchen.

\---------------------------------------------------------------------------------

 

   “I know one of you fuckers knows where Lance is, tell me NOW!”

 

   And that was how the sixth month was going.

 

   The team was on a mission to capture a transport ship filled with the Galra’s prisoners. On one of their earlier missions the padalins had recieved a tip that Lance may had been on one of them. It was a big risk taking a tip from a payed bounty hunter, but they couldn’t pass up the oppertunity. What if Lance  _ was  _ on the ship and they ignored the information? In the end, after a somewhat heated arguement between Keith and Shiro, Keith had won and they went on the mission. But after capturing the ship, and freeing the prisoners, they quickly realized that the bounty hunter had been lying. Lance wasn’t there.

 

   This leads us to the present, where a very pissed off Keith got his hands on a very unlucky Galra soldier.

 

    Beaten, with his throat pressed tightly to Keith’s bayard, the soldier in his grasp was a babbling mess. The more the red padalin yelled, the more his blade dug into the neck of his victum. Eventually it dug in so far, that blood poured in small rivers from the cut on his neck. The further the blade went in the more paniced the soldier became. So paniced that you could see his trambling through his armor. If Keith cut much further he wouldn’t be able to answer any of his shouted questions.

 

   “I-I don’t know where he is! I swear,” the blade dug even deeper in the sodiers neck, making him release a cry.

 

“How do I know you’re telling the truth?” Keith growled, squeezing him tighter in his grasp.

 

   “Stop, please! I don’t know where your friend is- whoever they are! I was just sent here to watch the prisoners! I have a family, two kids to feed at home-please, just let me go!”

 

   Keiths bayard halted in its movement.

 

   “Keith-”

 

   He sighed before releasing the soldier,” I know Shiro.”

 

    Shiro placed a hand on his shoulder, “Are you okay?”

 

   “I will be.”

 

   “Guys we have the prisoners in our ship, we should get out of here before the Galra arrive,” Pidge’s voice suggested over the comms.

 

   Without another word the two paladins departed in their lions, heading back to the castle. 

\--------------------------------------------------------------

 

   It was later that night, while everyone was asleep, that a ground shaking roar erupted in the castle. The sound was loud and long lasting, shaking the castle with its booming vibrations. Needless to say, the paladins were quickly awakened, nervous and shocked, scattering to find the source of the sound. The sound continued and continued, going from a booming roar to a heartbreaking cry, and occasional whimper. It didn’t seem to end, even when the paladins found the source of the sound. The hanger. Blue’s hanger to be exact. 

 

   “What is going on,” Keith yelled, turning to the terror stricken princess. She gave no response . Allura couldn’t seem to form any words, only managing to stare with wide horrified eyes at the sight before them.

 

   And what a sight it was.

 

   Cry, after cry, left the blue lion. Head bowed, and paws thudding against the floor, it wailed. It looks so upset and terrified. Something Allura had never seen her whole life. Lions are the strongest, her father had told her, they had face just about anything head on. It seemed to have been true up to this point, but for the first time in her life, Allura doubted her father’s words. _What could be affecting Blue?_

 

   “There’s nothing we can do.”

 

   Everyone heard the statement, and slowly they turned their heads towards Coran. His voice had sounded unlike his own, broken and filled with sorrow. Like a quiet whisper in the darkest depths of a depressed mind. If the team wasn’t shocked by the voice, they were even more shocked by his face. Tears streamed down his cheeks, with his silent sobs, his face was an image of sorrow. It matched the voice perfectly.

 

   The team was horrified.

 

   “C-coran? What do you mean,” Pidge stutter, looking at the usually happy person in fright.

 

   Coran smiled a broken smile, “Exactly what I said, there’s nothing we can do. It’s over,” more tears streamed down his face as Blue’s cries faded into white noise in the background.

 

   “It’s over? What’s over,” Keith questioned, looking distressed, “You're not making any sense!”

 

   “I’ve seen this once before, many, many, years ago,” Coran away from the padalins and towards the blue lion,”The lions are very strong, emotionally and physically. The only time they weaken is when something happens to their padalin, and usually-”

 

   He looked back at them with eyes overflowing with tears.

   “-It’s their death.”


	4. Smoke

_Focus._  
  
  
  
_Aim._  
  
  
  
_Deep breath._  
  
  
  
_Fire!_  
  
  
  
   Shot after shot was fired in the wispy clearing. A sniper rifle of twisted twigs and branches was aimed unwavering at it's unmoving target. It's holder was as silent as the forest, his focus solely on the bullets he fired. He payed great attention to his shots, watched as each hit the target straight and in the center. There was no time for error. One bullet could mean the difference between life or death. A gun was not something to play with, it was a weapon, whether you used it as one was your own choice. But at the same time as he was burdened by the dangers of such a weapon, it gave him a thrill that he only experienced when he held it. A buzz of excitement and pride whenever he fired. After all these years of being useless and unhelpful, he finally had something he was good at. A skill that could make him worthy of his friends, and place as the blue paladin. He was an excellent sniper, a real sharp shooter, if he had ever seen one.  
  
  
  
_It's too bad I'll never be able to show them._  
  
  
  
   He dismissed the thought with a quick shake of the head, and fired his next bullet.  
  
  
  
   Dead center.  
  
  
  
   "You've gotten really good at that Lance," The proud voice of Vikk rang from behind him.  
  
  
  
     Lance put down the gun and slung it over his shoulder, turning to Vikk with a playful smile. "I had a good teacher."  
  
  
  
   "You and dad are very close, I'm glad he's got someone to hang around with. He always gets bored of hanging around with the other old farts."  
  
  
  
   Lance laughed, "Is that something you really should be calling your elders?"  
  
  
  
   Vikk huffed, "If you had to listen to them rant all day about what the future Tasf should do with their life, all day, you'd say the same."  
  
  
  
    "Yeah, I guess. Where's the thorn in your side?"  
  
  
  
     Vikk giggled, "You mean Nyx? He's out flirting with the villagers again. Nice name by the way."  
  
  
  
   "A playboy at ten? Can't imagine what he'll be like as a teenager," Lance joked.  
  
  
  
    "Says the playboy himself!"  
  
  
  
     "Hey! That was only once!"  
  
  
  
   "You flirted with every young woman in the village, there are 23!"  
  
  
  
    "I was getting used to my surroundings," He pouted, crossing his arms.  
  
  
  
    Vikk smirked, placing a hand on her hip, "Oh yeah? How many people have you dated since you got here?”

   Lance stopped and thought for a moment. “29.16 girls, 11 boys, and two neither.”

 

    “See what I’m talking about? That’s more than one date a week!”

 

     Lance chuckled, smiling sheepishly, “You got me there… But hey a mans got to have something to do in his spare time! I’ve been here for like a year!”

 

   Vikk deadpanned, and crossed her arms, “You’ve been here for six months Lance.”

 

    “Six months, a year, same difference,” He whined, standing up and walking past Vikk, “Come on, let’s go see pops. He said he was going to teach me t-”

 

    A ground shaking boom rocked the land beneath them, and the two quickly snapped their head towards where is was coming from.

 

   The village.

 

\-----------------------------------------------------------------

 

       Lance’s world was once again set on fire, literally. Smoke drifted in the air in a dark grey cloud, that masked the air around them. Red hot fire, consumed and destroyed several huts around them. And the people were everywhere. They came running from their burning homes, not looking better than the huts themselves. Their cloths were dirty and ash filled, burns and scrapes marred the flesh of many. Everywhere you looked their was someone rushing away from the flames, and then…there were some who weren’t. People of all ages children, adults and elders littered the ground in heaps of broken bodies. They were dead, almost undoubtedly. But Lance had trouble believing it. This place had been a joy filled, lively village not only an hour ago. It was completely unrecognizable. This wasn’t the village that had looked after him and gave him purpose. This was a war zone.

 

   Lance had no idea what to do, nothing but questions filled his head. _Is this really the village? What happened? Why is everything on fire?_

_Where’s Nyx and-_

_**POPS!?!**_

 

    That was enough to get his feet running in the direction of the Tasf hut. God-what if something happened to him? He looked after him for so long, was so kind and light hearted. He made him laugh when he was feeling down. _He’s like a father to me. I can’t lose him. Just focus on your goal Lance, there’s no time for thoughts like that right now._

 

   _Gotta find Nyx. Gotta find Pops.  Gotta find Nyx. Gotta find Pops.   Gotta find Nyx.  Gotta find Pops.  Gotta find Nyx! Got to FIND POPS!_

   Lance was startled when a hand grasped his shoulder. “What are you doing Lance!? You’ve got to calm down. Your going to walk into the fire!”

 

   He turned to her with a look of desperation, “But I’ve gotta find Pops-”

 

   Vikk grabbed his face between her hands in a vice grip and pulled his face down to hers, “He’s my dad too Lance. Mine too. Which why I know that he wouldn’t want either of us to get hurt, and you will-if you go out there like this. We’ll find dad Lance,Nyx too, I promise. But what you need now is to take a deep breath, and relax for a second okay?”

 

   Closing his eyes he did as she asked and took a long deep breath. He kept them closed until his breathing steadied. Then opened them and gave Vikk a grateful smile.

 

   “Thank you.”

 

   Vikk gave him a reassuring smile, “Your welcome, now let’s go find our family.”

 

  “Yes ma’mm.”

 

\-----------------------------------------------------

  **A piece of Lance died that day.**

\--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

 

   “Lance you have to stop blaming yourself.”

 

   Lance looked up from the wooden beam he had been hammering on to his new hut with a blank look. “I’m blaming myself because it was my fault.”

 

   It had been a month since the fire in the village, which Lance had quickly learned apon arrival, was an attack. It turns out that there is another large clan on the small planet known as the Nobis. The Nobis, being a larger more advanced clan, had been trying to expand into the Saltus territory for years. Assumingly they had enough with the waiting. A lone Nobis soldier had set the entire village on fire within minutes, destroying huts, belongings, food, and lives. Unfortunately one of those lives was that of the current Tasf, known as Kennif Blue. And it was all Lance’s fault.

 

   “He wanted to save you! He valued his life over his own!”

 

   “Yeah, well he shouldn’t have.”

 

    “Lance-”

 

   “Save it Vikk.”

 

   A moment of silence passed between the two of them. The two starred at the ground quietly, neither knowing what to say. What could they say? They both lost a father, and no matter how you looked at it, it was because of Lance. No one held a grudge against him sure, but Lance’s worst enemy had always been himself. There was no helping it either. In the end, it was Lance who broke the silence.

 

   “I’m sorry.”

 

   “It’s okay, I forgive you,” Vikk hugged him tight gainst her,” Nyx really misses you, ya know? Everyone misses you.”

 

   Lance dug his face deep into her hair,” I’m sorry,” He mumbled.

 

   “It’ll get better soon, I promise.”

 

    He pulled back at her arms length, and stared ferocity into her eyes, “Not until I kill the sons of a bitches it won’t.”

 

   Vikk stared back with the same fire in her own eyes, “And we will. We’re going to start training our fighters tomorrow, our warriors will take the fuckers head on-”

 

   She stepped a few steps back, and stared at him with the seriousness of an experienced leader.

 

“-and I want you to lead them.”


End file.
